


And Many Happy Returns

by Apharine



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, F/M, IT'S WOLF'S BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABEY, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apharine/pseuds/Apharine
Summary: Leon and Raihan are very much up to something - Cas just doesn't know what, exactly, until her birthday rolls around.  But when she finds out, she's more than delighted by what her partners have put together for her.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Original Female Character(s), Kibana | Raihan/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	And Many Happy Returns

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TMWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TMWolf/gifts).



> This fic is written for my dear friend, TMWolf, who turned 28 today! Happy birthday, Wolf - and not just any birthday, either, but a Golden Birthday - 28 on the 28th!! :D
> 
> Cas belongs to Wolf and is used here with permission <3

If there’s one thing Cas has a sixth sense for, it’s knowing when her men are up to something.

And she knows, as surely as she knows she was born in Johto, that her men are _absolutely_ up to something. They’re about as obvious as children would be about it, after all.

“Are things busy at work, or something?” Cas frowns at Leon over dinner one evening. “You seem like you’re thinking about something a lot - and working on it a lot, too. All those phone calls that you’re taking in the other room, the way you’re on your phone late at night in bed…”

“Things have been a little busy with the Battle Tower lately,” Leon replies with a small shrug. “But it’s nothing you have to worry about.”

There’s something in the way he fails to meet her eyes, the way he doesn’t expound on his difficulties the way he usually does, that sets off Cas’ alarm bells. Not that she worries he’s cheating on her - Arceus, no; she knows Leon almost better than she knows herself, and she knows his loyalty and love would never falter.

But she knows he’s preoccupied by something, all the same. 

“Raihan’s not home yet,” Cas says pointedly, arching one eyebrow at her husband. “Is he in on whatever scheme you’re cooking up?”

Leon begins to choke on his food, coughing and spluttering. After a moment, he takes a sip of water, finally raising his amber eyes to meet hers.

“Who says I’m cooking anything up?” He attempts, though it’s a feeble effort.

Still, it’s cute somehow, even if it _is_ about as transparent a lie as she’s ever seen.

“You’re really obvious, you know,” Cas says with a small smirk. “I think Hop might be better at hiding things than you are.”

“That’s absolutely not true,” Leon counters, then realizes his mistake, freezing with one finger pointed at Cas as his cheeks deepen in color.

“So…..are you planning on telling me what it is, or are you going to make your wife wait?” Cas grins, wiggling her ring finger, bling and all, teasingly. Leon’s grimace grows more profound as he watches the ring he put on her finger glimmer in the light.

“Well…” he says, and Cas decides to turn up the heat.

“If you tell me now, there’ll be less confusion later if I have to bail you out,” she says flirtatiously, hooking her foot around Leon’s calf underneath the table and stroking it playfully. Leon’s eyes widen slightly, both from the contact and from the memory of everything they’ve been through together.

It’s been a lot, and Cas really _has_ been there by his side through it all. Does he really think he could stand to keep anything from her?

“It’s - I can’t really explain right now,” Leon stammers. “It will make sense in the end, though. I promise.”

Before Cas has a chance to protest, Raihan lets himself in, and the attention shifts away from the conversation at hand. 

Cas logs this in the back of her mind to bring up later. For now, though, the New Year is coming, and she has lots to do with her beloved family.

* * *

It’s not until later, after the New Year has rolled around and celebrations have come and gone, that Cas begins to notice that Raihan is suddenly hiding his phone from her.

Admittedly, he’s on the thing nearly as often as any one person can be, posting to Pokegram and Chatotter. But Cas catches him typing furiously now and then - and hiding the phone as soon as he notices her gaze on him.

Cas knows better than to worry about infidelity from Raihan, either; he’s incredibly devoted to both her as a lover and to Leon as his best friend, his right hand man, and that devotion has not wavered - could not waver - whatsoever.

Still, it confirms her suspicions. Whatever cockamamie scheme Leon is involved in, he’s roped Raihan in on it, too.

“If I ask you what you’re up to, will you just tell me you can’t really explain right now, too?” Cas asks, sitting down on the couch beside Raihan with a rare pout.

Raihan again hides his phone mid-message - had he been writing to Opal? Cas hadn’t meant to snoop, but she’s pretty sure she’d seen _Opal’s_ name at the top of the conversation all the same. 

Have they roped even Galar’s most veteran semi-retired Gym Leader into whatever they’re plotting?

“Are you mad at him for saying that, love?” Raihan asks gently, taking Cas’ hand and raising it to his lips. He kisses her knuckles reverently, gazing at her through his dark lashes.

Although he doesn’t say his name, Cas knows he’s referring to Leon.

“I’m just confused,” Cas admits. “I’m - I’ve never _not_ been a part of whatever he’s doing. Not since I’ve met him, you know?”

“Mm-hmm,” Raihan hums, turning her hand over and planting kisses to her palm, then working up towards her wrist and forearm. “That’s true. That should tell you all you need to know, don’t you think?”

“What are you trying to say?” Cas asks sharply, keeping her expression serious and stern despite the way that Raihan’s kisses to her sensitive skin make her want to giggle.

“You Slowpoke,” Raihan sighs. “Leon made me promise not to tell you, so I can’t just come out and _say_ it. But don’t you think that if Leon’s plotting something, and he’s keeping you out of it, that maybe it could be because it’s _for_ you?”

The realization hits Cas like a stampeding Rhyhorn.

“Oh,” is all she can say, but it doesn’t matter, because soon, Raihan is working his way further up her arm, then onto her collarbone, then onto her neck. The pretty sounds Cas starts to make are music to his ears, and he pushes her so she’s laying down on the couch, his larger body hovering over hers.

“Love, you trust us with everything, don’t you?” He murmurs, running his hand down her side.

“You know I do,” Cas murmurs.

“Then trust us with this,” Raihan murmurs. “And don’t let on to Leon that I’ve told you _anything_. Because I haven’t, officially, told you anything.”

“Right,” Cas agrees, then pulls Raihan down into another kiss.

* * *

Cas spends a _lot_ of time over the next couple days trying to figure out what in Arceus’ name her men could possibly be planning for her that involves Opal, a lot of messages, and Leon taking calls in the other room.

The New Year has come and pass, and mid-January rapidly approaches. There aren’t many holidays for the next couple weeks - at least, not until the end of the month, when her birthday is due to come up.

Her birthday. It’s not just any birthday, either; Cas is turning 28 on the 28th, which makes it her golden birthday. It’s possible they’re doing something for her, she supposes - but _what?_ Surely, they didn’t need Opal to teach them how to bake a cake - and surely, they also know that she doesn’t demand a big, over-the-top party or an expensive gift to feel happy.

All she really wants is them, after all. There can be no greater gift, in Cas’ opinion, than simply getting to spend time together with the loves of her life.

But in the end, she sees the way Leon’s eyes light up when Raihan shows him a message on his phone, or the way that Raihan pumps his fist quietly after Leon gets off yet another phone call taken in the other room and fills him in on the conversation in hushed whispers. It annoys her, in a sense, that they refuse to share what, exactly, they’re doing - but at the same time, it’s incredibly _cute_ to see them conspiring together like this.

The knowledge that it’s for her only sets her heart to fluttering even more.

In the end, Cas decies not to continue prying. She watches and waits and wonders - and marvels at the two completely adorable men who are, somehow, entirely hers.

Arceus, how is it possible to love two people so much? And, moreover, how is she so lucky to have them love her in return?

* * *

Cas keeps an ear out as her birthday approaches.

Something _has_ to slip. Cas knows that, if whatever her men are organizing is as big as it sounds, she’s perfectly likely to hear something that will tip her off as to what’s going on. Maybe she’ll hear a time for a catering group to arrive. Maybe she’ll catch one of the Galar Gym Leaders posting about it on Pokegram. Maybe she’ll receive a phone call that was meant for Leon.

But nothing happens, and, if anything, Raihan and Leon have gotten _better_ at subtly disguising their efforts. Cas knows she shouldn’t be surprised - for as soft hearted as they are with her, they’re brilliant men in their own right - but it still surprises her nonetheless. To know that even she, as perceptive and clever as she has had to learn how to be, cannot figure out what’s going on - it strikes a considerable amount of curiosity into her heart.

But despite the undercurrent of excitement, her days remain surprisingly…mundane. Not boring, necessarily - she’s never one to be bored - just…ordinary.

So ordinary that when she gets a text from Leon the day before her birthday, asking her if she could swing by the Battle Tower and bring him his lunch - which he’d forgotten at home - she doesn’t really think twice about it.

Well, except to text him and ask if he couldn’t just order takeout or something. But when he insists, saying he really had been looking forward to that lunch in particular, Cas relents, and makes time in her day to swing by their home, then by the Battle Tower.

Except when she gets to the Battle Tower, it’s _jam packed._ The moment she steps out of the monorail station, she realizes she’s going to have a bit of a difficult time making her way to the BT proper. What in Arceus’ name is going on?

As she shoulders her way through the crowd, she begins to have a suspicion. The place is strung up with blue and white streamers - her colors - plus blue and white balloons, some of which are in the shape of birthday cakes.

Oh, she is going to kick Leon and Raihan’s asses for this.

“Isn’t that Cas?” Someone says, and all eyes turn to her, several Rotom Phones coming out and grabbing pics of her.

Cas tries to wave to appear at least a little friendly, but really, the way people push at her and try to invade her space is downright overwhelming. For all their planning, hadn’t Leon and Raihan thought to put some rails in to keep the general public back, or something?

Fuck this, Cas decides, and as soon as she’s got an opening, she releases Chara.

Her Charizard turns to her inquisitively, even as she assesses the situation at hand.

“Char,” she says with a quiet huff. 

“Let’s get this to Lee, okay, girl?” Cas murmurs, climbing up on her back swiftly and hoisting Leon’s lunchbox up.

Chara nods, then rapidly begins to beat her wings, ascending into the sky. The crowd screams and squeals around her, several people rushing forward to try to touch her Charizard.

Fortunately, she’s already out of their reach, beating her way through the bright blue sky as she heads towards the steps of Rose Tower - which, ironically, are fenced off.

Well. At least they’d managed to get that part right - not that it had done her any good, at first.

As Cas approaches, she’s surprised to see all the Gym Leaders assembled together - with Leon and Raihan standing in front of them all. They part, making room for Chara to land, and Cas scrambles off her back, returning her to her Pokeball with a murmured thanks.

“What -” Cas begins, but before she can say anything, Leon and every Gym Leader pulls a party popper from behind their back.

“Surprise!” They all chorus in unison, unleashing a positive rain of confetti down upon Cas.

“Happy birthday,” Leon grins, sweeping her up in his arms and pulling her into a kiss. Cas melts into his touch for a moment, then pulls back, absolutely baffled.

“ _What_ is going on?” She asks, beginning to laugh slightly - whether from confusion, disbelief, surprise, she’s not entirely sure.

“We decided to throw you a birthday surprise, love,” Raihan interjects, slipping his arms around her waist from behind. “The biggest bash in all of Galar, for one of Galar’s biggest heroes.”

Cas stiffens in her men’s arms, feeling color rise to her cheeks.

“I - I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t need a big party,” she says faintly, glancing to the thrumming crowd of people.

“You don’t know?” Leon asks, confusion in his face. “This - it’s not just a big party. Did you not see the letter in my lunchbox? Or the sign?”

“The sign?” Cas echoes, equally as confused.

If this wasn’t a party, what _was_ it?

“Just - hang on a moment,” Leon mutters, grabbing his lunchbox and opening it. Inside, atop his food, is a handwritten note. Cas extracts it carefully, then unfurls it.

_Are you ready for a birthday bash? A real Champion Time? If you are - come on down to the Battle Tower and be ready with your team for a good fight!_

“Mate,” Raihan says, his eyes levelling with Leon’s. “Did you not tell her to look in the lunchbox?”

“I - um,” Leon stammers.

“Holy shit,” Raihan laughs. “Love, this is a party - but it’s a party with a twist, all right? We’re here to have fun and to celebrate you - including your strength and brilliance. These people are here for cake and to watch you fight Galar’s former Champion,” he says, nudging Leon on the other side of her.

“I thought it might be kind of fun,” Leon says with a goofy smile. “You’re just….you’re really brilliant, and Galar loves you, and I love you - and I can’t help but to want to share my love for you, for how brilliant you are as a woman and as a Trainer, with all of Galar.”

Cas feels a smile spread across her face in return. As she looks at the man she loves - the man she knows will protect her, care about her to the ends of the earth - she feels as if she can understand his desires, somewhat. She wants the world to know about her love for him - and for Raihan.

Still, one thing nags in the back of her mind.

“I can’t believe you two planned _every detail_ of this event perfectly, except for the part where you tell me what it actually _is_ ,” Cas laughs, leaning forward into Leon’s muscular chest as she dissolves into peals of laughter. Leon laughs in return, his chest rumbling with the sound, as Raihan’s arms wrap around the two of them.

“That’s on me,” Leon chuckles. “It’s been a very busy day, in my defense.”

“Only about to get busier, because I’m going to kick your ass out there,” Cas grins into Leon’s shoulder.

“I know you are,” Leon laughs. 

“Well - that’s assuming you survive fighting all the Gym Leaders in order, first, love,” Raihan deadpans behind her.

“ _Excuse_ me?” Cas says, feeling her smile fade quickly.

“He’s joking, he’s joking,” Leon rushes, swatting at Raihan playfully. The Dragon Tamer laughs impishly, only holding the two of them tighter. “The Gym Leaders are going to be fighting one another. Hype up the crowd some before our battle, and all.”

“Mm,” Cas hums, then pulls back from Leon, grinning up at him. “I’d still be able to defeat all of them _and_ you if I had to, though.”

“I know,” Leon laughs, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips, just as Raihan ducks his head and kisses her neck. “One of the many reasons I love you.”

His hand ghosts over the scar that crosses her side as he says the words. Though the spot isn’t sore to the touch any longer, it does nonetheless serve as a long standing reminder of where they started - and just how much they were willing to give one another.

As Cas turns to allow herself to hold both her men, she can’t help but feel a surge of affection rising up in her chest. Really, a friendly battle in one of the only places in Galar that’s designed to be able to handle the full strength of their attacks sounds like a fun way to spend the day.

And, she’s certain, she’ll get her quiet moments with her men later this evening.

“I love you, too. I love you both,” Cas murmurs, planting kisses on first Leon’s, then Raihan’s, lips.

“We love you too,” Raihan sighs, pulling away from her kiss only reluctantly.

“Happy birthday, Cas,” Leon murmurs. “And many happy returns.”


End file.
